That means tremendous opportunities for government contractors; it also brings the potential for billions in wasteful spending. Since 2001, the United States has provided around $32 billion in aid and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan. But unfortunately, the top government watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction is only just getting around to checking the books.

The Associated Press' Richard Lardner reports that the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (nice acronym: SIGAR) still lacks adequate staff to do its job. What's more, the office is off to a very late start: The SIGAR didn't even start work until last July, seven years after U.S. forces toppled the Taliban. D'oh!

Says Retired Marine Corps Gen. Arnold Fields, the head of SIGAR: "We probably should have done this several years before now ... I think we may have lost some ground that we are now trying to make up."

Since 2001, the U.S. has provided approximately $32 billion in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan. That's on top of the $25.3 billion donated by the international community. If the Iraq experience is any guide, that's created massive potential for waste, fraud and abuse. The watchdog for Iraq spending, for instance, estimated that around 15 percent — or $3 billion — of the $20 billion spent on major reconstruction projects in Iraq had been wasted.

Allow me to indulge in some fuzzy math. If we assume that money has been spent twice as effectively in Afghanistan – and that's a big if, considering Afghanistan's corruption, logistical difficulties and poor rule of law – that's still $2.4 billion in (potential) wasteful spending out of that $32 billion pot of money. And while it's important to underscore Washington's (and the taxpayer's) commitment to Afghanistan, the firehose of aid money hasn't exactly won points with ordinary Afghans. If Afghans are on the fence when it comes to supporting their government, enabling more corruption definitely won't help.